Apple iAd rolling out to iPhone app developers looking to advertise their apps

Apple iPhone app developers can now try and generate some revenue with media-rich ads, as Apple is opening up its iAd advertising platform to more app creators. The move should allow iPhone devs to promote their own iPhone apps through Apple’s new mobile ad service.

On its developer page, the company details its iAd for Developers program, which includes app measuring tools, advice for how to prepare your program for iAds, and promotional tools. While consumers probably aren’t too excited about more ads in their mobile programs, this could lead to a host of free apps for the Apple iPhone.

The iAd platform is built directly into iOS 4, which enables it to access all the features of the Apple iPhone. This means ads can use 3D graphics, full-motion video and even the motion sensors for customer interaction and engagement. We’ve seen the Apple iAd in a select few apps already, as Nissan used it to show off its Leaf product and you can check out the video below.

It’s far too early to tell how successful Apple iAd will be, but this move should get more developers to kick the tires. There are now over 100 million iOS devices with a desirable demographic, so Apple iAd has a chance to be quite lucrative.

Of course, Google is the big gorilla in the room regarding mobile advertising because it is trying to move its cash-cow online advertising system to the mobile space. It recently spent $750 million to acquire AdMob to help it conquer this space and that has led to a bit of one-upsmanship from Apple.

Apple updated its terms of service to potentially block developers from using AdMob’s mobile advertising network with iPhone apps. So far, AdMob says Apple hasn’t fully enforced this, but it could be a strong blow for Google’s hopes of mobile advertising success on the iOS platform.

Google will still have a strong base for mobile advertising with its Android platform, as that operating system is being activated by 160,000 users a day. Mobile advertising is just one reason Google thinks Android could be a cash cow.